Fordham Tops UNCG 79-48 In Women’s Basketball Action

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THE BRONX, N.Y. – The UNCG women’s basketball team opened the Fordham Holiday Classic with a 79-48 loss to the host Rams Sunday afternoon inside Rose Hilli Gymnasium. The Spartans fall to 4-8 with their fifth-straight loss while Fordham improves to 10-2 with its ninth-straight win.

Senior forward Janae' Stevenson (Columbia, S.C./Eau Claire) scored 14 points to lead UNCG while freshman guard Bailey Williams (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) netted 10 to end up in double figures for the second time this season. Stevenson added eight rebounds and was 6-of-10 from the field. Erin Rooney led the Rams with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Fordham shot 50 percent from the field, making 30 of 60 field goals attempts while the Spartans ended up at 35.2 percent (19-of-54). The Rams also won the rebounding battle 39-34 and out-scored the Blue and Gold in the paint 34-24.

Fordham came out of the gate quickly, ringing up an 8-0 lead and forcing UNCG to call for a timeout. The Spartans crept within 12-5 after Stevenson knocked down a foul shot with 13:26 on the clock, but the Rams answered with a Briana Jordan three-point field goal to extend their advantage to 15-5 with 11:35 to go before the half.

Stevenson hit a layup and was fouled at the 10:07 mark and she would complete the three-point play to make the score 15-10. A layup by Mason kept the Blue and Gold within shouting distance at 21-14 as the clock ticked to 8:02 but Fordham took off from that point. The Rams ended the period on an 18-6 run to enter the break with a 39-20 edge.

Fordham dominated the glass in the first 20 minutes by a 26-16 count and shot 45.5 percent (15-of-33) from the field, limiting the Spartans to 16 boards and 25 percent shooting (7-of-28). Stevenson paced UNCG with six points and seven rebounds in the half while Emily Tapio netted 12 points and Erin Rooney had seven rebounds for the Rams.

The teams traded layups to start the second half before Fordham went on a 10-2 run to essentially put the game out of reach. Fordham led by as much as 33 in the period before closing out the game with the 31-point final margin.

UNCG will play the loser of the contest between Harvard and Tulsa in tomorrow’s Fordham Holiday Classic consolation game at 1 p.m.